Umayyad Dynasty (661-750)

     Umayyad Dynasty, first great Muslim dynasty to rule the Empire of the Caliphate (661–750). The Umayyads, lead by Abu Sufyan, were a largely merchant family of the Quraish tribe centred at Mecca. They had initially resisted Islam, not converting until 627, but subsequently became prominent administrators under Muḥammad and his immediate successors. In the first Muslim civil war, the struggle for the caliphate following the murder of Uthman, the third caliph,  Muawiya was presented with the opportunity to challenge Ali's rulership.

     Umayyad rule was divided between two branches of the family: the Sufyanid (661–684), descendants of Abu Sufyan, and the Marwanid (684–750), Marwan I and his successors. 

The Family Tree of Umayyads

 

     With the death of Ali, Muawiya succeeded in establishing himself as the caliph, making Damascus the capital of the Islamic empire. He concentrated in strenghtening his rule by offering truce with the Byzantines, which had renewed tribal alliances and securing the succession of his Yazid. After Muawiya's death in 680, Yazid faced the opposition of Husein, the son of Ali.

     Civil war and the deaths of Yazid I in 683 and of Muʿawiyah II in 684 brought Sufyanid rule to an end. Marwan I was proclaimed caliph in Syria in 684 amid tribal wars.

     Under Abd al-Malik, the Umayyad caliphate reached its peak. Muslim armies overran most of Spain in the west and invaded Mukrān and Sind in India, while in Central Asia, the Khorasanian garrisons conquered Bukhara, Samarkand, Khwarezm, Fergana, and Tashkent. In an extensive program of Arabization, Arabic became the official state language; the financial administration of the empire was reorganized, with Arabs replacing Persian and Greek officials; and a new Arabic coinage replaced the former imitations of Byzantine and Sasanian coins. Communications also improved with the introduction of a regular post service from Damascus to the provincial capitals, and architecture flourished.

Dome of Rock built by Umayyad Caliph Abd al- Malik

 

     The last Umayyad, Marwan II, was defeated in the Battle of the Great Zab River. Members of the Umayyad house were hunted down and killed, but one of the survivors, Abd ar-Raḥman, escaped and established himself as a Muslim ruler in Spain, founding the dynasty of the Umayyads of Cordoba.\

Reference link: http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/people/umayyad.html
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